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Leadership and Governance Collective
Empowering organisations throughout Aotearoa with innovative, independent, and collaborative research for leadership and governance excellence.
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Chief executive perspectives on organisational priorities across all sectors:
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2024 Organisational Culture Survey
Value of Culture
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Culture has economic relevance.
87% of not-for-profit, 88% of for-profit, and 92% of government CEOs rank culture among their top three value drivers, and over 94% believe improving culture would increase value.
Robust statistical analysis shows that organisations with CEOs who prioritise culture achieve higher three-year revenue growth.
Culture Outcomes
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When culture is strong, it drives measurable value.
Over 82% of NZ CEOs say weak culture raises the risk of unethical or illegal behaviour, more than 80% say it shapes how risks are taken, and over 83% say it determines whether decisions are short- or long-term
Culture directly governs the areas boards are accountable for: ethics, risk, and time horizon.
Optimal Culture
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Being a nice place to work is not the same as having an optimal culture.
Only about half of CEOs report high cultural alignment; for the rest, stated values do not match lived experience.
37–48% of New Zealand CEOs say they cannot invest enough to realise its full value.
Without broad employee alignment and sufficient investment, culture remains aspirational.
Building Culture for Tomorrow
AI and Culture: CEOs adopting AI anticipate it will transform culture by enhancing collaboration, enabling data-driven measurement of cultural outcomes, and fostering innovation and adaptability. For-profits focus on linking culture to performance metrics, while governments emphasise predictive analysis and scenario planning to support strategic, evidence-based decision-making.
Hybrid Work: Most CEOs prefer leaders to be in the office 3–4 days per week to support and nurture organisational culture, with less than 20% believing five days is ideal and 15% of not-for-profits and 10% of for-profits thinking fully remote leadership is effective. This reflects a broader cultural shift toward hybrid models, where intentional engagement, inclusion, and trust are prioritised over physical presence.